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Erlan's House

We were driving through the city. I had never been here before. I had never seen so many buildings and people, so I eagerly looked at them through the window until Erlan stopped in front of a high-rise building. After getting out of the car, he took the bags out of the trunk and handed them to me.

"I'm going to introduce you as my nephew," Erlan warned me.

"Won't that be difficult?" I was surprised.

"When I was nineteen, I decided to leave my father's house and continue my studies in the city. My father was against it; he wanted me to take over the family farm. We had a large livestock farm. My father spent his whole life taking care of the cows, sheep, and other animals that our family raised. But I didn't want that. My father and I had a huge argument, and he forbade me from coming back. He was incredibly stubborn and never accepted my choice until his death," Erlan sighed sadly. "After his death, I didn't talk to my relatives for many years, so my son doesn't know them. Come on in!" he waved, entering the building.

It turned out that my father's friend lived in a spacious apartment on the sixth floor. Entering the apartment, I saw a guy sitting on the couch in the living room with his arms crossed. His posture suggested he had been sitting like that for a long time.

Seeing us, he frowned, stood up, and approached Erlan. I noticed with surprise that we were about the same height. My race was naturally endowed with good physical characteristics. We were more resilient, agile, and our average height was about five inches taller than the average human.

"Where have you been? Why is your phone off?" he asked Erlan angrily.

"I went to the village to visit my relatives. The connection is bad there," Erlan explained hastily.

"What relatives?"

"This is my son, Urmat," Erlan introduced him to me, ignoring his son's words. "And this is your cousin, Toola. He's my younger sister's son. Their family is having problems, so he'll be staying with us."

"Why have I never heard that you have a younger sister?" Urmat said skeptically.

"We had a falling out for many years. Only recently did we renew our family ties," Erlan shrugged. "Enough questions, go get us something to eat. We're starving."

Urmat threw a distrustful glance at his father but still stepped closer and shook my hand in greeting.

"Have a seat," Erlan invited me to sit on the couch as his son went to the kitchen. Before sitting down, I looked around. The living room was a spacious room with large windows letting in natural light. In the center stood a large leather sofa, opposite of which hung a huge TV. The walls were decorated with posters from various movies and photographs of Erlan with famous actors. A huge cabinet occupied one wall, filled with old tapes and discs.

Noticing my curiosity, Erlan started talking about his work. He was a director and began his career at the age of 25. Over his more than 40 years, he had directed over six films. The movie that brought him fame was playing on the TV. But I couldn't focus on it. My thoughts were occupied with much more important matters than watching a movie.

Perhaps the sleepless night was catching up with him. Within minutes, Erlan had fallen silent. When Urmat returned with breakfast, Erlan was already fast asleep.

"Well, well," his son shook his head. He placed the tray with food on the table and went somewhere, returning a minute later with a blanket.

"Remind me of your name again?" he asked while covering his father with the blanket.

"Toola," I responded.

"What kind of problem do you have in your family?"

Different responses ran through my mind. I didn't expect him to ask so directly. Probably, because of his famous father, he was wary of unexpected relatives.

"I had a fight with my father, and he kicked me out of the house," I borrowed the idea from Erlan and voiced it. "I want to wait until he cools down."

"I see," Urmat said thoughtfully, moving the tray closer to me. "Let's eat first, and then I'll give you a tour of the house."

The tray had several sandwiches and a teapot with cups. It was clear that the house lacked a woman's touch, and the men had grown used to managing on their own.

After I had eaten, Urmat showed me around the house. Apart from the kitchen and living room, there were four rooms. Erlan's bedroom was a spacious room with a large bed and dark curtains, while Urmat's room was more modest but very tidy. In the center was a bed, next to it a small desk with a laptop and textbooks. 

The most interesting room was Erlan's study. It was filled with books on cinematography, scripts, and awards Erlan had received for his career. A large wooden desk held a computer, with stacks of papers and photographs from film sets nearby. The walls were adorned with diplomas and certificates, confirming his achievements in filmmaking. In the corner stood a comfortable leather chair, where Erlan probably loved to read and think.

When we reached the door of the last room, Urmat turned to me and unexpectedly grinned.

"Unfortunately, there are no more empty rooms in the house. You'll have to sleep here," he said.

"It doesn't matter," I responded indifferently.

"That's good," Urmat grinned again, opening the door to the bedroom.

It was a large room with floral wallpaper and a big pink canopy bed. The room also had a small yellow wardrobe and a bookshelf with novels and magazines. As I later learned, the room belonged to Erlan's ex-wife.

"You can look around. If you need anything, just tell me," Urmat smiled, leaving me alone in the room.

Sighing, I lay down on the bed. I would have to get used to this girly room, but it wasn't the biggest problem in my life.